1. Is this Heaven? No, but it is Iowa. Today #50Weeks50Constitutions drives our combine to the Hawkeye State, whose constitutional history got off to a jerky start, but stabilized quickly & hasn’t changed much since.
2. Congress manufactured the Iowa Territory in 1838, chiseling it out of the Wisconsin Territory. There weren’t all that many settlers there in those days, but population quickly swelled. By 1844, with perhaps 75,000 residents, statehood looked like an option. 
3. But to have a state, you need a constitution. So a bevy of delegates met in Iowa City. The document they drafted was fairly standard for the time. It had a copious bill of rights, a separation of powers clause, & a guarantee of public education.
4. It also had massive restrictions on corporations, especially banks. Jacksonian sentiments ran strong in Iowa Democrats. No bank could open w/o voter approval, there was a 20 year term limit for all corporate charters (not just banks) & the legislature could repeal them anyway.
5. The draft constitution went to the voters, who expressed their dissatisfaction by voting it down. Twice. So, it was time to go back to the drawing board. Another convention met in 1846. Much of the resulting document was the same, with some changes.
6. For example, the tight limits on corporations (but not banks, which were basically banned) were gone, & the governor’s term was extended. Most importantly, the state’s borders were cut back. This was b/c Congress had also rejected the draft constitution’s proposed borders.
7. Those proposed borders would have had Iowa go almost as far north as St. Paul! Many in Congress didn’t like this, as they wanted to maximize the # of northern states in the antibellum fight for free & slavery state representation.
8. The voters did approve the 1846 constitution—in a squeaker, with just 51% in favor. Congress soon after approved it & statehood as well. But, not everyone was happy. Calls for a new constitution soon rang out, spurred by the new Republican Party.
9. In 1857 delegates thus met again. The new constitution wasn’t all that much different, but better allowed for banks to be established, & added language to the bill of rights to better protect the rights of racial minorities (which proved to be fairly parchment barriers).
10. One quirky provision, still in the constitution today, prohibited agricultural leases for more than 20 years. This demonstrates deep anti-feudal sentiments that the Iowans of the day had.
11. The people also separately voted on whether to give blacks the vote, which was defeated overwhelmingly, with 85% against. This was reversed in 1868 following the Civil War & was anyway later a moot point with the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment.
12. The 1857 Constitution has since weathered a lot of history, but only been amended a relatively small 46 times. Thus, by some measures it is one of the oldest & most stable of state constitutions.
13. A few particular amendments stand out, including the removal of language excluding racial minorities from full legal protection, the role of judicial selection, special condemnation powers for drainage, & municipal home rule.
14. Sources:
Jack Stark, The Iowa State Constitution
Todd Pettys, The Iowa State Constitution
iowahighwayends.net/maps/stateboun…
publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/…
Jack Stark, The Iowa State Constitution
Todd Pettys, The Iowa State Constitution
iowahighwayends.net/maps/stateboun…
publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/…
